About a month ago, I took a look at the Fall Fishing Forecast and what areas I expect to have good fishing this season. We’re about a month into fishing and dropping temperatures are in the forecast. In preparation for the October Challenge with Walleye Warrior, I want to take a further look at what kind of bites we should have this month!
Missouri River
Lake Oahe
If you followed the fishing reports throughout summer, you know there was some fantastic fish being caught out of Oahe all summer long. As the temperatures drop and fish begin to move shallow again, anglers can expect to find some nice fish in Oahe! Oahe offers both numbers and a chance at a true fish of a lifetime, with fish over 30 inches certainly possible.
Lake Sharpe
Oahe Tailrace
Well the Oahe tailrace is presenting an interesting challenge. I was planning for an excellent fall bite out here, but the amount of forage is absolutely off the charts. Whether it’s alive, dead or in half, there is a tremendous amount of forage for walleyes to chow on and it’s honestly made fishing really hard! Take a look at the video to see just how much life there is in the tailrace.
Time will tell if this bite fires off or not. On one hand, the fish are well fed and when they bite are more than likely going to be very heavy. On the other hand, full fish are the enemies of anglers. Will the walleye go and we experience an insane fall bite or will the tailrace be a dud all season? Time will tell!
There is some big fish in the tailrace though, just look at these white bass!
Bridges
The bridges in Pierre are drawing a lot of attention from anglers. This is for good reason, the fishing is very good! Anglers are often experiencing a fast bite when they hit the water. If you hit the bite window, expect the action to happen quick!
Causeway
The evening causeway bite in Pierre has been up and down, but when it is good the fishing can be excellent. Casting crankbaits, jerkbaits and jig/plastics along the rocky shorelines can yield some nice fish once the sun goes down.
Main River Flats
The fishing on the upper end of Sharpe has been very good for several weeks! The Propst Professional Anglers have had terrific success and they are catching some nice fish too!
Bottom bouncing flats with Mack’s Lure Smile Blades along the flats have produced best! Often once you find fish, you can stay on them and have a very good day!
Lake Francis Case
Big Bend Tailrace
Big Bend tailrace is beginning to produce some excellent fishing as well! The walleye are aggressive and there are often plenty of fish to catch in the tailrace. Along with your eater class fish, there is always a chance at a nice fish!
Bridges in Chamberlain
The bridges in Chamberlain are always visited by anglers. As fall rolls along, the bite can get better and better! Vertical jigging baits and even crappie rigs and minnows can all produce well in these locations!
Road Grades
Shore anglers often have great success fishing the road grade in Chamberlain as well. Other areas such as the causeway at Cedar Shore Resort or fishing the railroad bridge can also produce some quick limits of nice fish. Casting jigs, crappie rigs, or hard baits can all produce good fishing.
Flats and Bluffs
Fishing both flats and bluffs can also produce some great fishing this time of year. Popular areas include Crow Creek, Kiowa Flats, Carpenter Bluffs and White River Flats. Anglers can often expect to catch a lot of fish once they can hit an active area.
Fort Randall Dam
Fort Randall Tailrace
Fishing the Fort Randall tailrace in Pickstown is also an excellent option this time of year. Whether you’re in a boat or on shore, there is often good fishing within reach of anglers. Much like Oahe Dam and Big Bend Dam, anglers can expect to find both a good number of fish and also some very nice fish!
Glacial Lakes Region
Brookings Area
Lake Poinsett
Poinsett has been producing some excellent fishing all fall! There are good numbers of fish to catch, but there are also some nice walleyes being caught too!
Anglers are having success from both the boat and shore. Anglers casting crankbaits, jerkbaits and jigs are having good success from shore. The perch anglers have been doing best from the boat, but the perch fishing has not been consistent. Some days it may be lights out, other days not so much.
Along with the walleyes and perch, crappie and white bass are also finding themselves’ in angler’s bags. If you’re looking for action and a good meal, Poinsett is a good place to check!
81 Ponds
81 Ponds is my favorite lake to fish in the area, but a construction project has really made for an interesting situation. The highway is closed and there is heavy equipment working to raise the grade. It will be interesting to see when the construction is completed and what impact it may have on the fishing.
Lake Campbell
The past couple weeks Lake Campbell has made some noise on the fishing report! While not in my forecast, Campbell has been a pleasant surprise and has really been producing some nice fish for anglers!
Lake Sinai
Usually about mid October is when I start fishing Sinai hard. Once the sun goes down, fishing can be excellent fishing off the rocky shorelines and points. I have done best with a lighted slipbobber and minnow, but casting jigs and plastics is also a good option as well!
Lake Thompson
Thompson is always a popular spot for anglers. The fall crappie fishing can often become excellent and there is of course a great fall walleye bite as well! White bass are also often found at the end of angler’s lines as well as the occasional giant pike!
Lake Albert
Lake Albert has been kicking out some good perch fishing as well! The perch fishing is strong across the highway from Poinsett and there is always the chance at a big walleye too! If you’re chasing South Dakota gold, both of these lakes offer some terrific opportunities!
Lake Hendricks
The South Dakota/Minnesota border water has been producing some excellent perch fishing lately! Expect a strong bite to take place all fall and some nice perch to be caught as well!
Watertown/Clark Area
Local Sloughs
There are plenty of sloughs and small lakes in the Watertown and Webster area and many of these waterbodies can offer some incredible fishing! When you can find culverts, rocky shorelines, weed flats, timber or a mix of all there is many times some fish to be caught as well!
Dry Lake #2
Dry Lake #2 is a fall favorite! Casting the road beds can often yield some excellent walleye fishing! Much like many other lakes in the area, there can be an outstanding numbers bite and also a chance every night at a true trophy! Be sure to tie on a thick fluorocarbon leader as there are often many pike to be found as well.
Goose Lake
Goose Lake near Watertown has been producing some strong fishing as well. Anglers looking to have a good day of walleye fishing have been leaving Goose pretty satisfied!
Webster Area
Bitter Lake
Bitter is always a favorite for fall fishing. Whether you’re looking for perch or walleyes there is often some excellent fishing to be had. As far as the walleyes, fishing submerged road beds becomes a top spot this time of the year. Mason loves fishing these road beds and for good reason, there are some excellent fish to be caught there!
Waubay Lake
Waubay Lake produced some excellent fishing for us this summer when we traveled out there for South Dakota Elite Walleye Series. As the temperatures begin to fall I anticipate the fishing getting better and better. Waubay is another lake that you can catch a lot of fish, but you also have a chance at some big fish!
Antelope Lake
My personal favorite trophy walleye lake is Antelope Lake just outside of town. We found an abundance of 12-14 inch walleye in here and it really looks like this is going to be one of those lakes that you can really catch a lot of fish! Anglers are reporting numerous of these size of fish, but there are some giants still lurking too!
Opitz Lake
Opitz is always an excellent lake for numbers. This smaller, more sheltered body of water can offer a good day of fishing when the winds may make fishing the larger lakes like Waubay and Bitter challenging.
Big Stone Lake
If you’re looking for panfish, Big Stone has been a top destination. Anglers are reporting good fishing for both perch and bluegill. Once again wind can make fishing challenging and the bite is fairly inconsistent, but the fishing can be very good on other days as well!
There is plenty of good fishing to be had all over South Dakota! Get out, try some new spots, new baits and I bet you’ll have a great time! Good fishing!
Related Readings
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Big baits catch big fish! This statement could not be more true in the fall. In this article, I discuss the types of presentations I like to toss for trophy fall walleye.
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Mason Propst of Propst Professional Anglers is a huge believer in the power jigs have when it comes to tough bites. As temperatures drop, learn how to scratch out some bonus fish!
